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Post by mugenginga on Jan 16, 2010 15:35:08 GMT -5
NiGHTS stuck her tongue out in a teasing fashion before speaking, "I can get out just fine. It's only Nightmare, after all. But if you keep thinking of me as weak, I will be. Just like Uboa is strong cause you think he is."
That was true in all areas of the Night Dimension. However, it was more true here. NiGHTS was a Nightmaren, the same race that Uboa was. NiGHTS had decided that would be a really bad thing to say by this point. And she and Madotsuki weren't exactly friends yet, which meant she couldn't rely on Madotsuki looking past that fact. But it meant that, in a specific Nightmare, his power directly related to Madotsuki's faith in him. Which at this point was pretty low. The sparkles were a rather annoying indicator of that.
And NiGHTS was still having her trouble with humanity. Nightmare was just a figment of the imagination. It could kill, but only rarely. The thing was, Madotsuki had enough fear towards her incarnation of Nightmare that it wasn't impossible that if she died here, she'd die in the real world. NiGHTS couldn't get how real it was to Madotsuki. Yes, it was a real world, but one directly tied to the Visitor. Trying to explain a person flapping their arms and flying to a normal human would have been about as successful as NiGHTS ability to grasp the issue with Nightmare.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jan 16, 2010 16:35:57 GMT -5
Madotsuki sighed. "Well, you don't really look too strong. And Uboa is powerful. How else does it find me everywhere in my dream worlds?"
She looked away. "If you think you can fight it that badly, though, I'll... try to believe in you."
She didn't know what to think. Maybe if NiGHTS could defeat Uboa, it would stop terrorizing her in her dreams? She looked up at NiGHTS hopefully. She had to hope that this strange, jester-like creature could help.
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Post by mugenginga on Jan 16, 2010 16:44:37 GMT -5
"Physical strength isn't everything, even if that idiot thinks it is," NiGHTS muttered.
She looked up as Madotsuki offered to believe in her. She felt a bit of strength return. She gave a huge grin and winked. She held up her hand to show and with a magician like wave she showed the sparkles had increased in light.
"I never give up! Even against things stronger than that Nightmaren! You said it was through this water, right? Let's go!"
Before waiting for a response, NiGHTS had flown down through the pink water, vanishing in the seemingly shallow depths. He'd be there when Madotsuki came out. Right. In Nightopia and Nightmaren alike, the power of will was everything.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jan 16, 2010 17:11:35 GMT -5
Madotsuki blinked as NiGHTS practically lept into the pool of water. He seemed rather eager. She thought about that for a moment. He? It was really hard to tell. A genderless pronoun would probably fit better. Well, it kind of sounded like it was using "watashi." She actually couldn't tell if it was speaking Japanese. It was weird. Well, not like her dreams weren't.
She shrugged and lept into the pool of water herself. She didn't bother holding her breath, as she ended up jumping out on the other side of the pool. She wasn't wet. She looked up at NiGHTS.
"Poniko's house is on an island across the lake. Um, it's a bit of a long walk and it's hard to get there on foot... do you think you can carry me?" Madotsuki asked.
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Post by mugenginga on Jan 16, 2010 17:34:00 GMT -5
NiGHTS looked over to Madotsuki. Carry her? He wasn't exactly built for that... if they could Dualize, it would be one thing. But she didn't have any Ideay, so she couldn't. NiGHTS looked over to the house. It was almost a dot for the distance. NiGHTS shook her head.
"I don't think so. I'm not really designed for that kinda thing. Stupid Reala could... I could probably help you off the edge into the water, though. So you could just take a straight path..."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jan 16, 2010 20:49:16 GMT -5
Madotsuki sighed. Okay, that would work too. She didn't want to have to track down a balloon to help her down. She walked over to the ledge that lead down into the lake, and changed to a different effect, her head morphing into a frog's head. This would help her go faster in the water and get over to Poniko faster.
She looked expectantly back at NiGHTS, waiting for him to help her down into the water.
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Post by mugenginga on Jan 16, 2010 21:07:46 GMT -5
NiGHTS flew over and looked. It was no wonder Madotsuki never jumped off the side of these things. They were deceptively tall when you got to the edge. She flew down and looked up to gauge the hight before a gold mask flashed for a split second over his face. In a flash of light where the humanoid jester had been was now an oriental dragon of sorts.
The dragon's head flew up, but the length allowed the bottom to stay near the water. Dragon NiGHTS set his head on the edge of the bank. She looked towards Madotsuki with a slight raise of the head and shook her tail near the bottom. It actually looked a bit like a rope as well.
"You can climb down like this," NiGHTS stated.
Odds were Uboa knew they were coming now, though. After all, the Persona mask was something only he and Reala had, and it gave off a bit of a signal to nearby 'Maren. Then again, it had probably already known. In a way, it was the guardian of this particular Nightmare. By being one of the most powerful second levels, it had been assigned to one of the strongest Nightmares.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jan 16, 2010 22:17:09 GMT -5
Madotsuki gulped, and then very slowly began to climb down NiGHTS dragon body. She knew it was stupid of her to be this worried, after all, this was a dream, but at the same time, these banks worried her.
Once she reached the water, she looked back up at Dragon NiGHTS. "I'm down!" she called.
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The inside of the tepee like structure out in the middle of the island in the distance resembled an empty, normal bedroom. The lights were out, and sitting on the floor with her legs crossed was a blond-haired woman on an indeterminable age. Her eyes were empty and emotionless, and if one were to look her in the eye, one would get the feeling that she was staring into your soul. She seemed normal enough, but one would get the feeling that there was something so, so much more about her.
The room itself seemed normal enough, even with the lights off. However, the way the shadows in the room fell seemed almost unnatural. The only visible light source was the window on the north end of the room, and the way the shadows within this room fell seemed to defy the laws of physics.
The woman twitched. It was really more like a spasm that crossed her entire body, and as it did so, the more unnatural shadows of the room shifted. She sensed something. She sensed more than something. A Persona mask. Something only those two Nightmaren that were closest to Wizeman possessed. So it was either Reala or NiGHTS who had invaded Madotsuki's Dream. The two of them tended to avoid this rather infamous Nightmare. After all, the woman sitting here was the one who had made it so infamous in the first place.
She pushed herself to her feet, and as she did so, the lights on the room flickered on and the shadows disappeared. She didn't know much about NiGHTS, but she knew that if it really was Reala coming here, she may be in trouble. Well, he knew just as well as she did that the strength of a Nightmaren depended on the Visitor who the Nightmare spawned from. And she was the strongest of all the Nightmaren within this Nightmare.
She would await him here, within this room that was her domain.
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Post by mugenginga on Jan 16, 2010 22:55:15 GMT -5
NiGHTS lifted his head from the bank and in another flash of light and sparkes was in his "jester" form again. He had reformed near the top of the bank. She flew down next to Madotsuki and glanced at the distant house. She noticed Madotsuki's worried look and turned to her and gave a thumbs up and a wink. She flew ahead several feet and motioned for Madotsuki to follow.
The problem was this. The only Ideya they could really get back at this point was the Red Ideya of Courage. That would rely on Madotsuki. It was the hardest Ideya to steal. Once stolen, a VIsitor had to show the trait that created it to get it back. Considering the situation that would be difficult, and NiGHTS could only hope Madotsuki would follow his example.
Well, there was another problem. Wizeman. The king of Nightmare was always rather annoyed with NiGHTS. While it was mainly Reala assigned to recapture his twin, the current state would put Uboa at a higher strength than either of the first level Nightmarens. At this point the only one that could push them into their natural strengths was Wizeman himself. The end result was that Uboa would be more than capable of subduing NiGHTS. Even if "she" couldn't deliver the purple jester to Wizeman, Reala would be quick enough to arrive. NiGHTS had never let fear stop him, though, so he continued to gesture.
He'd have to use examples and hope.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jan 17, 2010 12:08:15 GMT -5
Madotsuki looked up at NiGHTS as he flew ahead, gave a small croak, and hopped after him. She was able to catch up quickly enough thanks to the Frog effect. It didn't take near as long as she expected to reach the other shore because of the effect.
Once at the other shore, which too was more of a cliff, Madotsuki deactivated the effect and looked up at NiGHTS expectantly. She'd have to circle around and look for a balloon to climb up it otherwise, but NiGHTS had helped her down the last one, so she expected he could help her up this one.
She gulped. Up there was Poniko. She'd have to face her fears and see her again.
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Post by mugenginga on Jan 17, 2010 12:24:37 GMT -5
NiGHTS had almost forgotten Madotsuki needed help up the cliffs. As in she had remembered when she was at the top of the cliff and almost impossible to see from Madotsuki's angle. She rolled her eyes at herself and flew back down. Again the energy of a Persona mask flashed, and the spiralling flight of the dragon brought its head down to where Madotsuki was. It really was like a living rope.
"Poniko" would be aware. Especially now that they were so much closer. If she'd been looking out her window, she'd realize it was NiGHTS. The purple jester had been high enough to be seen. What was interesting was NiGHTS was pretty infamous for his distaste in Nightmare. The fact that she was there alone meant something had probably happened. Considering power levels, that something pretty much had to be Reala. Meaning the red twin to the jester had managed to screw up again.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jan 20, 2010 17:15:09 GMT -5
Madotsuki smiled at NiGHTS and began slowly climbing up his ropelike body. Once at the top, she gulped, and materialized her Knife effect. She didn't want to be here. She could see those conelike structures. Poniko's home.
"Let's go," Madotsuki said.
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Poniko had only looked outside the window when she felt the energy of a Persona mask again. She had managed to get a good look at the user before it had brought itself down to where Madotsuki was. It had been purple. Damn, it was NiGHTS. She knew the purple jester wouldn't come here willingly, so Reala must have screwed up again.
She chuckled to herself. The odds were greatly against NiGHTS, in any case. In here, she was as powerful as a first-level Nightmaren, and NiGHTS wouldn't be anywhere near that. After all, she'd hadn't spent all of that time building up so much fear and depression in Madotsuki's mind to not be this powerful. And it wasn't like she was against attacking her own kind. Quite the opposite, in fact.
A few of the shadows within the room writhed again as she smirked. Bring it on, NiGHTS.
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 17, 2010 8:07:35 GMT -5
(OOC: You know, I totally just realized how perfect Uboa's little "pocket dimension" is to NiGHTS canon. XD After all, the boss 'Maren all have their own little dimensions for their fights. XD)
NiGHTS gave a thumbs up and a mischevious wink to Madotsuki. The sparkles coming off his fingertips had faded a bit again. This probably wasn't going to go all that well. The Visitor's confidence in her was quickly fading. The only hope now would be that he could convince Madotsuki to try and fight. To show her courage by setting a good example.
The purple jester flew forward and stopped in front of the door. She turned to make sure Madotsuki was still with her before grabbing the door handle. Uboa would be aware of him, he knew that. He had used the power of the Persona mask, after all. He twisted the door handled and pushed it open. The manifestation of Poniko would see both NiGHTS and Madotsuki. There was still a chance, after all, that Madotsuki would change her mind.
NiGHTS didn't seem to know when to be scared though. Then again, he never had been.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 17, 2010 23:12:23 GMT -5
Madotsuki gulped as NiGHTS pulled the door open. It was now or never, she supposed.
Standing in the middle of the room, like usual, was Poniko. She had been staring off into space until NiGHTS had opened the door. Despite the fact that all beings inside the room were aware of the fact that Poniko was in truth a very much malevolent and powerful Nightmaren, Poniko didn't appear to be that at all. In fact, she looked and acted like a normal little girl.
"...Mado-chan? You came to visit me?" Poniko asked. Madotsuki looked away, and Poniko looked a little pained. "Mado-chan, what's wrong?"
Madotsuki winced at Poniko's words. That thing was still acting like her friend. That was how it had lured her in before. How it had tried to lure her in until Madotsuki had turned out the lights and revealed its true form. Madotsuki opened her eyes and actually glared at Poniko.
"...NiGHTS-san's going to stop you, Poniko. I... hope he can, anyways. I know he's gotta," Madotsuki said.
"....Mado-chan?" Poniko asked with a concerned tone. Madotsuki looked down at the floor, gripped her Knife tighter in her right hand, and put her left hand on the lightswitch. Poniko's eyes widened.
"DON'T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS!"
The moment the lights turned out, the normal little bedroom completely changed. The colors of the room inverted, the room began to shake, but those weren't the disturbing aspects. The disturbing part was that had happened to Poniko. Her body hadn't visibly changed yet. But she was holding her head so that her eyes weren't visible. And all of the shadows in the room seemed to be creeping toward her body, which was now beginning to melt into some sort of black ooze.
"I thought I told you not to turn out the lights! You never did listen did you, Mado-chan? You didn't listen when I said that the traffic was bad! You didn't listen when I said we should go home! You didn't listen when I told you to jump off your damn balcony! You and I both know it's your fault! It's your fault I died!" Poniko looked back up at Madotsuki, and her eyes had turned completely black by now, and were bleeding the same black ooze that her body was starting to turn into. "It's all your fault, Mado-chan! You'd be better off dead!"
By now, almost all of the Poniko form had melted away, and the room was ringing with a muted screaming noise. Like several people far away were screaming in agony. Madotsuki stepped back and hid behind NiGHTS.
"Don't hide behind her! She's just here to throw more stones at you, you witch! She'll eat you alive! She's not your friend! Come on, trust your friend, Mado-chan!" the Poniko-Uboa construct called. Madotsuki winced.
"...NiGHTS-san..." Madotsuki looked up at NiGHTS. She wasn't sure what to do.
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 18, 2010 13:51:47 GMT -5
There was an advantage to being a denizen of the Night Dimension. Not just a Nightmaren. A Nightopian or one of the non-specific dream "races" Madotsuki had called Yumeningen once before would have been able to pick out that Poniko wasn't what she appeared as well. NiGHTS had flown to the right side to let Madotsuki go where she seemed to be heading. The light switch. "Poniko" continued her charade, acting unaware of the rebel Nightmaren in the room.
Hope. NiGHTS was relieved Madotsuki had chosen that word. In an twist of irony, it brought some hope to the situation. The purple themed Nightmaren narrowed her eyes as Poniko still continued to taunt. And then Madotsuki reached for the light, and Poniko's gaze darkened in combination with her surprise.
The switch was flicked, and NiGHTS found even himself jump at the change. This was a bit like when the Nightmaren turned the lights out in some of the Nightopias she had visited. Things often changed when the lights went out, but this was a bit much. Then again, this was Nightmare. Madotsuki was panicking as Poniko melted away. Madotsuki's choice to hid behind NiGHTS was helped as the rebel Nightmaren flew foward, taking an aggressive mid-air stance.
"What kind of friend is a thief, Uboa!? Return Madotsuki's Ideya, you puppet!"
NiGHTS moved forward a few inches. The sparkles from his fingertips were still on the low end of things. This didn't look like it was going to go well for the "visiting" team, but NiGHTS wasn't going to back off. Once again, she was never all that smart in that regard.
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